Judge dismisses two of eight animal cruelty counts against East Stroudsburg man

Two of eight counts of animal cruelty have been dismissed against an East Stroudsburg man who a witness said punched and later threw a pit bull down steps.

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By ANDREW SCOTT

poconorecord.com

By ANDREW SCOTT

Posted Aug. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By ANDREW SCOTT
Posted Aug. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

Two of eight counts of animal cruelty have been dismissed against an East Stroudsburg man who a witness said punched and later threw a pit bull down steps.

Lamont Scott, 26, had been charged with four misdemeanor counts and four citations of cruelty. East Stroudsburg Magisterial District Judge Michael Muth dismissed two of the four misdemeanor counts Wednesday, saying there's evidence of the dog being injured, but no evidence of Scott causing those injuries.

Veterinarian Karin-Susan Breitlauch, owner of Creature Comfort Veterinary Care in Saylorsburg, testified Lexi, a female pit bull now 9 months old, was found with more than 20 bone fractures throughout her body when brought in for emergency care in June. Breitlauch said the fractures weren't caused by any bone deficiencies or a car hitting Lexi.

Breitlauch divided Lexi's fractures into four separate groups from April 25 to June 3, based on the approximate ages of the fractures. On June 3, Officer Elizabeth Anderson with the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought Lexi to Creature Comforts.

Anderson charged Scott with a misdemeanor cruelty count for each of the four groups, but Muth dismissed the third and fourth counts, since no one during that time period actually witnessed Scott causing Lexi's fractures.

Lonny Taylor, who works across the street from Scott's home, testified to Scott once asking him if he had seen Lexi when she was lost. Taylor said he personally never witnessed Scott abusing Lexi, though he had once heard what sounded like a dog's cry coming from the direction of Scott's home.

Cynthia Taylor, a veterinary technician at the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe's Stroud Township shelter, testified a jogger in May spotted Lexi injured in East Stroudsburg's Dansbury Park area and brought the dog to the shelter. Taylor said the jogger suspected Lexi "may have been hit by a car."

Taylor said she saw a bone protruding from one of Lexi's legs and pointed this out to Scott when he arrived at the shelter later that day. She said Scott told her Lexi's leg hadn't been like that before. She noticed no other visible injuries on Lexi at the time.

Stephanie Veley, who was renting from Scott and his wife in May and early June, said she noticed Lexi limping. Veley said she was standing just outside of the kitchen a few days after moving in when she saw Scott "hunched over" Lexi and punch the dog in the kitchen.

"At first, he didn't know I saw him," she said. "Then, when he turned around and saw me standing there, he was like, 'Oh, (Lexi) growled at me, did you hear her?' I never heard that dog growl."

Veley said Scott a few days after that picked Lexi up by her front legs and threw her down a flight of steps.

She said that, on a third occasion, she heard Scott giving Lexi a bath and heard "loud banging and whimpering." She said Lexi came out of the bathroom with two puncture wounds in her paw, and that Scott told her he had forced Lexi to bite her paw so she wouldn't bite him while he was bathing her.

Lexi is now recovering in foster care.

Scott remained free on unsecured bail Wednesday on condition that he have no other animals in his possession. He will appear in Monroe County Court on the remaining charges.